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Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing

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A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2025) | Viewed by 12726

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Prof. Dr. Unni Langås

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Department of Nordic and Media Studies, University of Agder, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
Interests: 19th, 20th and 21st century Scandinavian literature; Norwegian literature

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue addresses representations of WW II memories in contemporary Norwegian literature, doing so with a comparative glance at tendencies occurring in the entire post-war era. Today, the primary witnesses are mostly gone, and new generations are facing a past they feel an urgent need to thematize. In fiction and life writing, new voices approach this critical phase in Norwegian history and its inherited master narrative from fresh angles and current interests. Informed by family experiences, national and international memory culture, as well as recent historiographic research, literary contributions offer new interpretations of war-time concerns and their post-war afterlife.

Fiction which addresses historical experience is conventionally complete with references to real events and persons, thus implying a certain realism or trustworthiness. An important question is how this tension between the historical credibility and its aesthetical framing is shaped, and how the critics and readers respond to it. Another question concerns the changing norms that a comparative study of attitudes and opinions between past and present reveals. During times of occupation, unconventional relationships occur, and belongings (national, ethnic, gender) become powerful, even existentially decisive. The Special Issue will address these questions and offer comprehensive analyses of selected Norwegian WWII literature.

Abstract deadline: 1 March 2025

Prof. Dr. Unni Langås
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Norwegian literature
memory studies
World War II

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3629 KB

Open AccessArticle

In the Shadow of Photography: Indexicality, Death, and Family Memory of the Second World War

by Joachim Schiedermair

Humanities 2026, 15(3), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/h15030040 - 5 Mar 2026

Viewed by 859

Abstract

The article has two objectives: It begins by noting that, in memory studies, indexicality has thus far played a role primarily in the analysis of photographs. Central to this was Roland Barthes’ insight that photography should be read not only as an iconic sign but also as an indexical sign: a photograph touches us not only through what it shows, i.e., not only as a pictorial representation of its referent, but also through the fact that it is an imprint of light, causing it to function like a trace in the snow. While the insight into the indexical quality of photography has been extremely fruitful, it is surprising that other indexical signs (such as shadows or echoes) have received no attention in the discussion of memory studies. The first objective of this essay is to make a start on this, and it does so in dialogue with a Norwegian comic book. In Steffen Kverneland’s Skygger (Shadows), family memories of the German occupation of Norway play a decisive role. Most studies of World War II in contemporary literature focus on how historical events are represented. Kverneland takes a different approach. He is not interested in the representation of memories but in the function of remembering. He relates memories of World War II to current crises and to the aesthetics of his artistic work. The second objective of this essay is to analyse the comic, paying close attention to the various dimensions of indexicality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

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16 pages, 285 KB

Open AccessArticle

Giving an Account of Inherited Pasts: Memory, Ethics, and Relationality in Postgeneration Memoirs

by Ingeborg Rebecca Mjelde Helleberg and Ingvild Hagen Kjørholt

Humanities 2026, 15(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/h15020035 - 22 Feb 2026

Viewed by 539

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a new theoretical and methodological framework for analyzing the ethical, relational, and normative dimensions of transgenerational memory work, taking a comparative close reading of two Norwegian second-generation Holocaust family memoirs, Irene Levin’s Vi snakket ikke om Holocaust (2020) and Bjørn Westlie’s Fars krig (2008), as its case in point. Both narratives are simultaneously biographies, autobiographies, and historiographies, and they mediate between family memory and national memory. The authors position themselves as second-generation descendants, addressing and being addressed by their parents, and as Holocaust researchers, addressing and being addressed by a public audience. Departing from the theoretical perspective of relational life writing and Judith Butler’s concepts “scene of address” and “frameworks of recognition”, this comparative literary analysis of rhetorical situations, genres, and modes of narrating discusses the author-narrators’ engagement with their parents’ silence and writings and reveals how personal histories intersect with collective reckoning. By attending to the relational and performative aspects of storytelling, this article highlights how postgeneration literature enacts ethical reflection, recognition, and accountability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

14 pages, 726 KB

Open AccessArticle

Staging History: A Reading of Cecilie Løveid’s Maria Q (1994)

by Suze van der Poll

Humanities 2026, 15(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/h15020030 - 12 Feb 2026

Viewed by 539

Abstract

This article examines the reshaping of the period of the Second World War in Cecilie Løveid’s play Maria Q, a drama centered on the enigmatic historical figure of Mara Vasilyevna Pasetchnikova, better known as Maria Quisling, the second wife of Vidkun Quisling, who was Norway’s fascist prime minister during that war. Drawing on studies of historical fiction and intertextuality, this article aims to show how Cecilie Løveid employed the genre of historical drama but transformed it so that she could offer her reimagining of the war period in Norway to a present-day audience. I read Maria Q as an experimental historical drama in which Løveid not only used her freedom as a writer of dramatic fiction to combine fact with imagination but simultaneously incorporated various texts and genres as sources to further her own multifaceted reimagining of Maria Quisling as a complex character. As I will demonstrate, by foregrounding dialogism as her central dimension, Løveid rejected a unitary, monologic and authoritarian conception both of recent Norwegian history and of Maria Quisling’s role in it. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

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18 pages, 554 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Dead End of Dollar Road: Traces of World War II in Kjartan Fløgstad’s Novels

by Heming H. Gujord

Humanities 2026, 15(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/h15020023 - 30 Jan 2026

Viewed by 725

Abstract

In his 17 novels, Kjartan Fløgstad (born 1944) has analysed the traces of WWII and possible continuations of right-wing ideology into post-war politics and ideology. In my article, I focus on four novels: Dalen Portland, U3, Grense Jakobselv, and Due og drone (Dove and Drone). Dalen Portland and U3 were published in the context of the Cold War, whereas Grense Jakobselv and Due og drone were published in a context in which history was claimed to have reached its end after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fløgstad has opposed the end-of-history thesis since it was introduced in the influential study by Francis Fukuyama in 1992. From Fløgstad’s perspective, history has reached a dead end, as democratic ideals are being challenged and economic disparities are widening—even within the welfare states of Northern Europe. In all the novels being discussed, Fløgstad has consistently focused on factual and possible interlinks between right-wing figures of thought and stakeholders of political and economic power. Thus, the only consistent superpower, the United States, has also been an object of Fløgstad’s interest. The importance of the United States is even indicated in the well-chosen title for the English translation of Dalen Portland: Dollar Road. The interpretation of Fløgstad’s novels is simultaneously an interpretation of history. Given the threats to democratic ideals that have emerged in the 2020s, Fløgstad’s analysis has demonstrated notable foresight. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

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18 pages, 298 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Memories, Places, Objects: Memory Transmission in Monica Csango’s Fortielser (2017)

by Madelen Brovold

Humanities 2026, 15(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/h15010006 - 29 Dec 2025

Viewed by 556

Abstract

Materiality has emerged as a significant theme in Holocaust literature as well as in Holocaust studies scholarship, highlighting the pivotal role of physical objects. This materiality has been conceptualized in various ways in recent scholarship, including «testimonial objects», «objects of return», and «artifacts of memory». Building on this conceptual framework, the article analyzes the ways in which transgenerational memory transmission is thematized in Monica Csango’s memoir Fortielser. Min jødiske familiehistorie («Concealments. My Jewish Family History», 2017), investigating what memorial functions material places and objects—in particular inherited objects—serve in the transmission and representation of memory within the narrative. The central question the article addresses is: Which places and objects are central to the narrative’s representation of memory, and in what ways do they mediate memory and trauma? The article suggests that postmemory transforms physical objects and places spaces into sites of remembering and mourning, enabling transgenerational continuity and memory transmission in Fortielser. These findings underscore the central role of material and spatial mediums in sustaining intergenerational remembrance, suggesting that inherited artifacts and projected spaces constitute vital modes of memory transmission, or «acts of transfer», within parts of Jewish Norwegian second- and third-generation literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

18 pages, 324 KB

Open AccessArticle

Writing the Burden of Family History: Descendant Narratives of World War II Perpetrators in Norway, 1980s–2020s

by Marianne Sætre Amundsen

Humanities 2025, 14(12), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14120239 - 12 Dec 2025

Viewed by 1492

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive historical overview and analysis of Norwegian descendant literature written by children and grandchildren of World War II perpetrators—specifically Nazis, Waffen-SS front fighters and members of the fascist party Nasjonal Samling (NS)—from the 1980s to the 2020s. Based on an analysis of twenty works, it shows how these narratives articulate the emotional and social burden of family history and engage with an evolving national memory culture. The analysis identifies generational and temporal patterns, including a significant divergence within the second generation. Early publications (1980s) and later “NS children’s” accounts (2010s) foreground stigmatisation, bullying, exclusion and long-term repercussions, whereas self-reflective second- and third-generation works (2000s–2020s) increasingly portray internalised responses, such as inherited shame, guilt and emotional ambivalence. By tracing these developments, the analysis shows that descendant narratives both reflect and reshape existing frameworks of remembrance. Across periods and generations, the burden is marked by strong emotional responses and interwoven with national memory culture. These findings offer new insights into the emotional dimensions of Norway’s evolving memory of World War II, highlighting the interplay between personal, familial and collective memories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

17 pages, 246 KB

Open AccessArticle

Silence, Distortion, or Discrimination? Roma Memories and Norwegian Memory Politics of WWII

by Anette Homlong Storeide

Humanities 2025, 14(12), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14120236 - 4 Dec 2025

Viewed by 1073

Abstract

The Nazi genocide had devastating consequences for Norwegian Jews and Romas. However, their experiences and memories have been treated very differently in Norway with respect to official recognition and public attention. This article investigates the mnemonic marginalization of the Roma and the persistent gap between the historical recognition of Roma persecution and its representational absence in national narratives of war and victimhood. It suggests that continued exclusion of the small Roma minority from national identity narratives in Norway results not only from temporal, topographical and narrative characteristics of their memories, but also from discursive connections of negative stereotypes that discredits them as blameworthy victims and results in testimonial injustice. Moreover, it explores the challenges of representing Roma memories without reproducing stigmatizing cultural tropes. The article suggests empathic mnemonic counter-narratives as a strategy for countering dominant framings of the Roma as “the others” and for promoting a more inclusive and self-reflexive politics of remembrance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

14 pages, 240 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The War at Sea, Lived Memories and the Politics of Emotion in Vigdis Stokkelien’s Trilogy on Gro

by Christine Hamm

Humanities 2025, 14(12), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14120226 - 21 Nov 2025

Viewed by 920

Abstract

In recent years, Norwegian cultural production has increasingly foregrounded the experiences of sailors serving aboard merchant vessels allied with the British during the Second World War. These men endured not only physical injuries from submarine and aerial attacks, but also profound psychic trauma, often manifesting in post-war alcoholism and depression. However, the war at sea also left indelible marks on women’s bodies. This article examines Vigdis Stokkelien’s trilogy on Gro—Lille-Gibraltar (Little Gibraltar, 1972), Båten under solseilet (The boat under the sun sail, 1982), and Stjerneleden (The star joint, 1984)—to explore how emotions as fear, shame and pain circulate between different individuals and groups during the war and in war memories. Drawing on affect theory, this reading of Stokkelien’s novels demonstrates how what happened at sea marked Norwegian bodies and national identity for a long time after the war. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

15 pages, 223 KB

Open AccessArticle

Realism, Affect, and the Battle of the Senses: Historicity and Cultural Memory in Dag Solstad’s War Trilogy

by Sigurd Tenningen

Humanities 2025, 14(11), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14110222 - 17 Nov 2025

Viewed by 684

Abstract

This article examines Dag Solstad’s War Trilogy (1977–81) as a key work of realism and cultural memory in postwar Norwegian literature. Long dismissed as doctrinaire Marxist fiction, the trilogy is, in fact, one of the most ambitious literary engagements with World War II in Scandinavia. Drawing on Georg Lukács’s theory of the historical novel and Fredric Jameson’s account of realism’s “antinomies,” this article argues that Solstad’s realism is defined by contradiction: it is both a didactic mapping of social conflict and an aesthetic registration of lived sensation. The trilogy insists on the persistence of class antagonisms across civilian and military spheres; however, it also dwells on affective residues—hygiene, beauty, emotions, atmosphere—that resist narrative closure. This duality is framed through the concept of dual historicity: Solstad’s novels remember the 1930s and 1940s from the vantage point of the 1970s, while today they reach us as artifacts of that political and aesthetic moment. In light of this, the War Trilogy operates not only as historical fiction but as a medium of cultural memory, dramatizing the contradictions of remembrance itself. Realism here becomes neither transparency nor nostalgia, but a “battle of the senses” in which ideology and perception vie over the conditions of historical experience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

18 pages, 225 KB

Open AccessArticle

National Identity and Nomadic Subjectivity in Norwegian War Poetry

by Hans Kristian Strandstuen Rustad

Humanities 2025, 14(11), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14110208 - 22 Oct 2025

Viewed by 1030

Abstract

This article aims to explore how subjectivity is portrayed and reflected in Norwegian poetry on World War II and post-2000 wars. The material will include only a small number of anthologized poems from World War II by the poets Arnulf Øverland, Inger Hagerup, and Nordahl Grieg, and contemporary war poetry by Priya Bains and Pedro Carmona-Alvarez. It suggests that Norwegian World War II poems often exhibit a fixed rhythm, include rhymes, and emphasize national identity, utilizing binary oppositions such as “we”–“the others,” “friend”–“enemy”. In contrast, contemporary Norwegian war poetry seems to feature structures that reflect global, nomadic subjectivities. These contemporary works may engage more with fluid identities and intricate networks of connection, moving beyond the rigid dichotomies seen in earlier war poetry in Norway. These insights suggest a shift in how poets express and conceptualize war, influenced by changing global dynamics and understandings of identity and subjectivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

15 pages, 238 KB

Open AccessArticle

Postmemory Interpretations of Second World War Love Affairs in Twenty-First-Century Norwegian Literature

by Unni Langås

Humanities 2025, 14(7), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14070135 - 24 Jun 2025

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2365

Abstract

Love and intimate relations between German men and Norwegian women were a widespread phenomenon during WWII. Like in many other European countries, these women were stigmatized and humiliated both by the authorities and by the civilian population. In this article, I discuss four postmemory literary works that address this issue: Edvard Hoem’s novel Mors og fars historie (The Story of My Mother and Father, 2005), Lene Ask’s graphic novel Hitler, Jesus og farfar (Hitler, Jesus, and Grandfather, 2006), Randi Crott and Lillian Crott Berthung’s autobiography Ikke si det til noen! (Don’t tell anyone!, 2013), and Atle Næss’s novel Blindgjengere (Duds, 2019). I explore how the narratives create a living connection between then and now and how they deal with unresolved questions and knowledge gaps. Furthermore, I discuss common themes such as the fate and identity of war children, national responsibilities versus individual choice, and norms connected to gender and sexuality. I argue that these postmemory interpretations of wartime love affairs not only aim to retell the past but to investigate the normative frameworks within which these relationships took place. My contention is that the postmemory gaze pays primary attention to the power of cultural constructions—of nationality, identity, and gender—as well as their context-related historical changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)

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